TMC’s Sougato Roy had said the CPM and Congress should back TMC and Mamata Banerjee if they wanted to defeat BJP.
New Delhi: The much talked about “grand alliance” against the BJP in Bengal is unlikely to be a reality as senior leaders from the Congress as well as the CPM has categorically denied any alliance or political understanding with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Bengal.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, president of the Congress’ Bengal unit, while speaking to The Sunday Guardian, rubbished any talk of an alliance or understanding with the TMC in Bengal.
He told The Sunday Guardian, “There is no question of any alliance with the TMC in Bengal. If the TMC is so scared to fight the BJP alone, they may abolish their party and come to our party. Let the TMC party members join Congress, our doors are open. But we will not allow or have any kind of alliance with the TMC, let that be very clear.”
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also rubbished reports of a possible post poll alliance with the TMC in case the West Bengal electorate throws up a verdict which leads to a hung Assembly in the state.
Similarly, the CPM from West Bengal have also denied any alliance or understanding with the TMC ahead of the crucial Bengal polls due to be held in April-May.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, senior CPM leader and MLA Sujan Chakraborty said that there is no chance of an understanding with the TMC in Bengal.
“The reports of any alliance of talks or understanding between the CPM and TMC are bogus and hold no merit. There will be no question of an alliance with the TMC no matter what. Let me tell you, till yesterday CPM was not even a relevant party in Bengal for the TMC and the BJP and of late, the TMC is claiming that defeating the BJP is not possible by them and therefore, they are trying to reach out to the CPM. I can say that there will be no such understanding with the TMC. We already have an alliance with the Congress and we will fight elections only with the Congress.”
The Congress and the CPM last month formalised their alliance and are going to fight the elections together in the upcoming elections in Bengal. The CPM and the Congress had even fought the 2016 Assembly elections of West Bengal together.
However, talks about a “grand alliance”–TMC, CPM and Congress in West Bengal–came to the fore only recently when TMC MP Sougato Roy had made a comment suggesting that the CPM and the Congress should support the TMC and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee if they wanted to defeat the BJP.
Soon after this, political circles in Bengal were rife with speculation about a possible tie-up of all the three major political parties in Bengal to take on the BJP, which has emerged as a major potent force in Bengal over the last few years.
Some political observers from Bengal have also said that the comment made by Sougato Roy was in a way suggesting that the TMC is falling weak before the BJP as the election dates are coming nearer and, therefore, they are looking for a possible understanding with the other major Opposition parties to stop the saffron juggernaut in Bengal.
However, when The Sunday Guardian contacted Sougato Roy for his comment on if the TMC is actually seeking an alliance with the CPM and Congress, Roy told this correspondent, “My comments are being twisted and misconstrued. I had said that if the CPM and Congress are seriously thinking of defeating the BJP, then the only person who can do it is Mamata Banerjee and they should support her.”
When asked if his comment, in any way, suggested keeping the doors open for a post poll alliance, Roy told The Sunday Guardian, “There is no question about that. The TMC is getting a full majority and we are once again going to see Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister.”